MCA portal cripples after switching vendor from TCS to Infosys on January 17
New companies have been unable to get off the ground and existing ones cannot upload
mandatory information as a critical government website, MCA 21, has slowed down sharply
after a vendor contract switched hands from Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to Infosys on
January 17. To add to the chaos, lenders have been unable to disburse loans as they cannot
specify assets that will be used as collateral.
The portal, under the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA), is essentially the gateway to filing
statutory information online with the registrar of companies (RoC) and is widely accessed by
lenders, chartered accountants and shareholders seeking to obtain financial details on 8.5 lakh
registered Indian companies. All companies have to mandatorily incorporate as well as file
information online.
India's second-largest software exporter, Infosys, took charge of the portal on January 17 from
TCS, which was associated with MCA 21 from 2005. TCS had won the contract as part of India's
first Mission Model Project of the National e-Governance Plan. The current contract with
Infosys is worth $50 million for five years.
"Lenders have withheld loans for want of creating or modifying a charge, new companies
cannot be incorporated, deals are stuck as balance sheets are not available for independent
verification, and many transactions are not going forward," says Aashish K Bhatt, a company
secretary in Mumbai. "This is causing lot of problem as one cannot access the filings."
MCA Secretary Naved Masood told ET that he expects to tide over the problem by the end of
this week. "There are transitional issues. We are keeping a close watch and discussing the same
with Infosys officials."
Infosys Told to Resolve Issue soon
The system has substantially improved in the last few days. On Monday, there were about
14,000 filings. Figures for Tuesday are not available at this moment. The login has begun but
since the queue is long, the system is not responding adequately. We expect the system to
normalise in the next 3-4 days," Masood said.
People familiar with the development said MCA has asked Infosys to resolve the issue
soon."There is a constant dialogue between our members, ministry and Infosys. There could be
teething issues due to the transition from one company to another. We hope that it will be
resolved soon," says B Narasimhan, council member, The Institute of Company Secretaries of
India.
Around 57,000 bankers and professionals have been issued digital signature certificates,
allowing them to file information on behalf of companies, according to a press release issued by
TCS on January 16, 2013.
Courtesy:- Economic Times, Wednesday, 30th January, 2013, New Delhi.
New companies have been unable to get off the ground and existing ones cannot upload
mandatory information as a critical government website, MCA 21, has slowed down sharply
after a vendor contract switched hands from Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to Infosys on
January 17. To add to the chaos, lenders have been unable to disburse loans as they cannot
specify assets that will be used as collateral.
The portal, under the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA), is essentially the gateway to filing
statutory information online with the registrar of companies (RoC) and is widely accessed by
lenders, chartered accountants and shareholders seeking to obtain financial details on 8.5 lakh
registered Indian companies. All companies have to mandatorily incorporate as well as file
information online.
India's second-largest software exporter, Infosys, took charge of the portal on January 17 from
TCS, which was associated with MCA 21 from 2005. TCS had won the contract as part of India's
first Mission Model Project of the National e-Governance Plan. The current contract with
Infosys is worth $50 million for five years.
"Lenders have withheld loans for want of creating or modifying a charge, new companies
cannot be incorporated, deals are stuck as balance sheets are not available for independent
verification, and many transactions are not going forward," says Aashish K Bhatt, a company
secretary in Mumbai. "This is causing lot of problem as one cannot access the filings."
MCA Secretary Naved Masood told ET that he expects to tide over the problem by the end of
this week. "There are transitional issues. We are keeping a close watch and discussing the same
with Infosys officials."
Infosys Told to Resolve Issue soon
The system has substantially improved in the last few days. On Monday, there were about
14,000 filings. Figures for Tuesday are not available at this moment. The login has begun but
since the queue is long, the system is not responding adequately. We expect the system to
normalise in the next 3-4 days," Masood said.
People familiar with the development said MCA has asked Infosys to resolve the issue
soon."There is a constant dialogue between our members, ministry and Infosys. There could be
teething issues due to the transition from one company to another. We hope that it will be
resolved soon," says B Narasimhan, council member, The Institute of Company Secretaries of
India.
Around 57,000 bankers and professionals have been issued digital signature certificates,
allowing them to file information on behalf of companies, according to a press release issued by
TCS on January 16, 2013.
Courtesy:- Economic Times, Wednesday, 30th January, 2013, New Delhi.
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